Of course, we have been at the High Court this week finding out just how little regard the Council has for our intelligence or our right to be consulted over what happens to the public services we all rely on and pay for. Mr Justice Underhill's verdict is due after Easter.

Tomorrow, Saturday 23 March, we will be marching, possibly through snow, from Finchley Central station to Friern Barnet Community Library on the 'Barnet Spring' march. There is a bus for those who don't want to walk.

Nothing
About Us Without Us!

This
term communicates the idea that no policy should be
made without the
full and direct participation of the people concerned.
It has a long
history within the disabilities rights campaigns, and
was adopted by
DPAC,
Disabled People Against Cuts, as their battle cry.

This
term
concerns us in many ways. There is, for example, the
lack of
consultation about the One Barnet Programme, which the
council, on
the one hand, tried to deny in the High Court;
while
claiming, on the other hand, that residents are “not
capable”
of understanding the complexity of the programme, so
consultation is
pointless. There’s also the failure of Your Choice
Barnet,
which will cause suffering and distress to parents,
carers, service
users and staff, and demonstrates the council’s
inability to
manage and to understand the complexity of its own
programmes. And,
finally, there is the contempt with which the
council has
dismissed and insulted concerned residents.

If
you haven't heard yet, the High Court judgment
regarding Maria Nash’s
challenge will be delivered after Easter. You can find
a summary of
the deliberations on our
website,
and also reports (better then ours) by the local
bloggers: Barnet
Eye,
Broken
Barnet
and Mr
Reasonable.

Tomorrow,
Saturday, is Barnet Spring.
Although spring is not an accurate term for the
weather that has been
forecast, it might not be that bad. Anyway,we have
braved bad weather
conditions in the past, so let’s all dress warmly and
remember:
battling against the weather
will make good
photo ops and is nothing like as hard as battling
against government.
Even if the weather is as
miserable as the
council, the government and austerity, let's make the
Barnet Spring
March BIG, big
and angry: Nothing About Us Without Us!

The
rally will start at 11am near Finchley Central Tube
Station. We will
begin to march to Friern Barnet Community Library at
midday,
accompanied by a double decker bus for people who have
difficulty
walking that far. Please note that the bus has
no ramp.
Wheelchair users will be buddied up with supporters and
there will be
stewards to assist with this at the assembly point.

The
second
part of the rally will be held at Friern Barnet, with
music
and food courtesy of the Friern Barnet Library Campaign.

There
will be speakers from all over the country: MPs,
councillors, LGA
members, trade unionists, and campaigners, including
Tony Benn. The
list of speakers, delegations and messages of support
is here.

Please help us make this march a
success: join us from 9am to prepare. We
need stewards and help with:

fund-raising collection

distributing leaflets

decorating the bus

putting up posters along
the march route.

If
you can help, please just turn up at 9am outside
Finchley Central
tube station or call 07534 407703.

Barnet the Guinea Pig

"This model has a sound theoretical basis... [sic] However it is unproven at this scale." Future Shape cabinet report, 3 December 2008

"Nobody has said this is going to be easy, it's a work in progress, some of it will never see the light of day." Barnet council leader Mike Freer, 16 November 2009

"I do not believe Soviet bureaucratic initiatives like One Public Sector, Labour’s Total Place (and Barnet’s Future Shape / Easy Council) ideas are... the way forward."Barnet councillor Mark Shooter, 4 September 2010

“There are... many examples of long-term partnerships where the commitment and enthusiasm of the provider has waned over the duration of the contract. Major... organisations will generally resource extensively during the first year, or two, of a new contract but this level of resourcing diminishes as the contract moves to a more stable business as usual position.”One Barnet Procurement Principles, 1 March 2011

"...there can be little confidence that Barnet has the capability, and perhaps more worryingly the culture, necessary to meet the challenge posed by the letting and management of contracts that, under the One Barnet plan, will be far bigger than anything the Council has previously dealt with." 'London Borough of Barnet: Procurement and Contract Management', Association for Public Service Excellence, March 2012

Fellow sufferers

#SackBrian

Click on the pic for a small sample of the reasons Brian Coleman was sacked on 3 May as London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden

People of the year 2010: John Burgess and Maggi Myland

Almost a couple, because they spend so much time together! Two of Barnet council Unison branch's most dedicated servants (along with Helen Davies but she's probably well enough known!). These people have personal lives as well, and give up a lot to take on the lazy might of Barnet council under the Tories. The picture is of Maggi working the crowd at Barnet Christmas fair.